Karen Slack
Soprano Karen Slack Joins the Roster
We are so excited to welcome the prolific soprano Karen Slack to our roster for general management. Praised as “one of opera’s strongest voices at present – both as a singer and a shaper of its culture” (The Washington Post) and for her “sizeable voice that captured all of the vacillating emotions” (The New York Times), Karen Slack is a sought-after performer, curator, and artistic advisor known for her fiery charisma and groundbreaking approach to engagement.
Slack has amassed a body of work that reflects her dedication to premiering works by living composers, with particular focus on using her platform to elevate works by Black artists. Her critically acclaimed African Queens has toured across North America and is now also touring in a version with full orchestra, with presenters including Ravinia Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, 92NY, Portland Opera, Piedmont Opera, and the Naples Philharmonic.
Slack’s debut album, Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price, with pianist Michelle Cann in collaboration with ONEcomposer on Azica Records won the 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. In 2025, Slack was featured on Shawn Okpebholo’s album Songs in Flight, released with Cedille Records.
Slack has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, where she debuted the role of Billie in the 2019 world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera, and many others. In concert, her credits include the Melbourne and Sydney symphonies, Bergen Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, and Philadelphia Orchestra. She made her New York Philharmonic debut in May 2024.
A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the 2025 MPower Artist Grant, Slack serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra, and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In the 2024-2025 season, she served as Artist-in-Residence at both Lyric Opera of Chicago and Babson College.
A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera. She will be managed by Dorothy Shrader in our New York office.